Record Sexual Harassment Settlement

Less than 15 months after Texaco's record settlement for racial bias, Astra USA has agreed to pay a record $9.85 million to settle a sexual harassment claim filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by 80 current and former employees. The U.S. subsidiary of Swedish pharmaceutical giant Astra AB acknowledged that women were asked for sexual favors in exchange for job advancement. The EEOC claim had also alleged that older, married women were replaced with younger single women. "As a company, we are ashamed of the unacceptable behavior that took place," says Astra USA's new president Ivan Rowley. Former CEO Lars Bildman had been fired in 1996.